Play at work, learning and innovation

ABSTRACT

Suggesting a virtuous triangle constituting public service innovation of new governances, innovation and learning, the paper examines how and why a particular mode of learning occurs: that of play. Having identified an absence of research literature on play as a catalyst for new ideas in public services, the paper argues that the diversified nature of public services and disciplinary intermixing offers fertile ground for playing with new service ideas. Our conception of play avoids functional interpretations, such as Amabile or individualizing the results of play and instead draws upon Vygotsky’s social learning theory to conceptualize play as a group activity from which new ideas emerge and suggest a new framework for understanding purposive play at work and the contribution it can make to public service innovation.

KEYWORDS:

• Innovation
• play
• governances
• learning

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Tony Kinder

Tony Kinder is a visiting professor at the University of Tampere.

Jari Stenvall

Jari Stenvall researchers at the Management School in the University of Tampere.

Ally Memon

Ally Memon is a senior lecturer at Kingston Business School, London.